Shoe-scouring machine



Oct. 9, 1962 w. BUCHI ETAL 1 SHOE-SCOURING MACHINE Filed April 5, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.1 BZ-FZT' W Flg. 2

17 Fig.8

INVENTORS BY WM Wm WM Oct. 9, 1962 w. BUCHI ETA]. 3,057,121

SHOE-SCOURING MACHINE Filed April 5, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS United States Patent $357,121 SHGE-SCGURENG MACHHJE Walter liiichi, Niederlahnstein (Rhine), and Zacharias lduschlc, Tnttlingeu, Germany; said Buschle assignor to said Biichi Filed Apr. 5, 19-61, Ser. No. 1%,900 Claims priority, application Germany Apr. 20, 1960 7 Claims. (3 51-192) The present invention relates to a shoe-scouring machine of the type which comprises one or more scouring wheels, the peripheral grinding surfaces of which usually consist of sandpaper which is secured to a felt base and may be of different grades of roughness. These scouring wheels are used for grinding off or scouring the edges of the heels and soles in several operating steps, that is, by first scouring them off roughly and by then dressing them to a smooth finish. By this procedure it is possible to eliminate the operation of smoothing the edges of the heels by means of a hot iron.

These scouring Operations require a considerable dexterity of the operator, especially for working on shoes whose sole and heel edges project only slightly'beyond the upper. At the slightest carelessness of the operator, the scouring wheel may touch the upper and thereby scuff or otherwise damage it. The average number of shoes which because of such carelessness have to be discarded in a shoe-manufacturing plant amounts from 8 to 10%. The damaged shoes must then be sent to the repair department and, even after being repaired as Well as possible, they can only be sol-d at a considerably reduced price since the damaged grain of the uppers will always remain visible to some extent to a discerning customer.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a shoe-scouring machine which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages and requires considerably less skill and dexterity of the operator in order to produce perfectly finished sole and heel edges Without danger of damaging the uppers.

According to the invention this object will be attained by providing a suitable guide element directly adjacent to the scouring wheel and intermediate the upper edges of the sole or heel and the upper.

This guide element is preferably of an arcuate shape which has a curvature with a center disposed coaxially with the scouring wheel, and it is mounted parallel to the latter and adapted to be adjusted in both radial and axial directions relative to the scouring wheel and to be secured in a fixed position.

For adjusting the guide element in the axial direction, this element may be provided with a hub' slidable on and adapted to be clamped to a mounting bolt, while for adjusting the guide element in the radial direction, the bolt carrying the guide element may be slidably adjustable along a radially extending recess in a mounting plate preferably mounted on the bearing block in which the drive shaft of the scouring wheel is rotatably mounted. The radial adjustability of the guide element is very important since the surface of the guide element adjacent to the scour-ing wheel may become worn and the peripheral edge thereof may thereby be damaged, requiring it to be reground which, in turn, requires it to be readjusted.

By guiding the shoe in accordance with the invention, the advantage will be attained that the leather of the upper will be fully protected from being scuffed or even more seriously damaged by the scouring Wheel, and that the operator of the machine may carry out his work so easily that the length of time required for scouring a pair of shoes will be reduced approximately to one-third of the time previously required.

Fatented Get. 9, 1962 In order to mount the guide element according to the invention without diificulty on existing scouring machines, the mounting plate may be provided with an annular flange in which a plurality of setscrews may be provided at uniform distances from one another for securing the mounting plate to the peripheral surface of the bearing block. In some cases it may, however, be advisable to provide a mounting bracket in place of a mounting plate.

The guide element may also be adjusted in the axial direction relative to the scouring wheel by providing it with a tubular extension which is telescopically slidable on the mounting bolt and provided with a longitudinal slot through which a setscrew passes into the mounting bolt so as to permit the guide element to be clamped thereto.

For adjusting the guide element in the radial direction, it may also be provided with a radially extending pro jection which is preferably of a dovetailed shape and slidable along a guide member of a corresponding shape mounted either on the hub or tubular extension of the guide member or on the mounting plate.

For scouring machines in which the wall of the housing is disposed closely adjacent to the scouring wheel, the means for adjusting the guide element in the radial direction relative to the scouring wheel may also consist of a radially extending slide member which is secured to and carries the guide element and is slidable in a correspond ing guide member which is secured to the side wall of the machine housing. This side wall and the guide member thereon are provided with an elongated aperture through which a setscrew passes from the outside into the slide member carrying the guide element, so that the latter may be easily adjusted from the outside of the machine.

The above-mentioned as well as further objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more clearly apparent from the following detailed description, particularly when the same is read with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a perspective view of a scouring machine of the usual construction which is provided with a guide element according to the invention;

FIGURE 2 shows a front view of a scouring wheel and the guide element according to the invention;

FIGURE 3 shows a side view of the guide element;

FIGURE 4 shows a cross section taken along line IV IV of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 shows a side View of the mounting plate of the guide element;

FIGURE 6 shows a cross section taken along line VI VI of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 shows a detail view of the mounting bolt of the guide element;

FIGURE 8 shows a detail view of the nut for securing the mounting bolt to the mounting plate;

FIGURE 9 shows a side View of a guide element and its mounting plate according to a modification of the invention;

FIGURE 10 shows a cross section taken along line XX of FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 11 shows a cross section taken along line XIXI of FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 12 shows a cross section of a further modification of the guide element according to the invention;

FIGURE 13 shows a vertical section of a guide element according to still another modification of the invention, secured to a side wall of the machine; while FIGURE '14 shows a cross section taken along line XIVXIV of FIGURE 13.

In the drawing, FIGURE 1 illustrates a shoe scouring machine of the usual construction including a troughshaped housing which is provided with suction means and contains at least one scouring wheel, the wheel shaft being mounted at one or both sides in bearing blocks or brackets and driven through a belt by an electric motor in the bottom part of the housing. In order to simplify the illustration, the drawing shows only one bearing block 1 at the right side for the drive shaft 2 of scouring wheel 3. This scouring wheel 3 is also of the usual type and its grinding surface preferably consists of a strip of sandpaper of the desired roughness which is attached to a felt base. When scouring the sole and heel edges of a shoe by means of such a scouring wheel, the outcome of the work depends entirely upon the dexterity and attentiveness of the operator The advent of modern shoes without projecting soles and heels also brought a considerable increase in rejects and waste because of damage to the uppers which becomes unavoidable at the least carelessness of the operator of a scouring machine.

In order to avoid such damage and to reduce the time required for the scouring operation on a pair of shoes, the invention provides directly adjacent to the scouring wheel 3 a guide element 4 which consists of an arcuate member 5 of a curvature, having its center on the axis of scouring wheel 3, and of a hub 6. The outer peripheral edge 7 of guide element 4 is of a tongueshaped cross section in order to enter easily into the small gap between the upper leather 33 and the peripheral edge 32 of the sole or heel of the shoe.

The length of the arcuate member 5 may, for example, correspond to an angle of about 150 with reference to the radius 8 of scouring wheel 3. It may, however, also be made considerably shorter since the work is carried out only along a very small part of the periphery of the scouring wheel.

Hub 6 of guide element 4 is secured by a setscrew 9 to a mounting bolt or rod 10 on which it may be adjusted in the axial direction in accordance with the desired distance from scouring wheel 3. This distance preferably amounts to approximately mm.

Mounting bolt 10 is secured to a mounting plate 11 which has an annular flange 12 extending over the bearing block 1 and is secured thereto by means of four screws 13. Mounting plate 11 has an elongated, radially extending aperture 14 through which passes the threaded end 15 of bolt 10 screwed into a nut 17 consisting of an oval plate, as shown particularly in FIGURE 8, which engages into a recess 16. The elongated aperture I4 permits bolt 10 and thus also guide element 4 to be adjusted in the vertical direction. In order to facilitate such an adjustment, bolt 10 is provided with fiat surfaces 18 to permit a wrench to be applied thereto.

The adjustment of guide element 4 in the direction parallel to the peripheral surface of scouring wheel 3 may also be easily accomplished by turning the mounting plate 11 together with mounting bolt 10 and guide element 4 slightly in one or the other direction relative to hearing block 1.

A modification of the means for adjusting guide element 4 in the axial direction relative to the scouring wheel is illustrated in FIGURE 12. In this embodiment, the hub of guide element 4a is extended to form a tubular part 20 which is telescopically slidable on and adapted to be secured to mounting bolt 10a projecting from mounting plate 11a. For this purpose, the tubular part 20 is provided with a longitudinal slot 21 through which a setscrew 22 passes which is screwed into bolt 10a and, when tightened, will clamp the tubular part 20 and guide element 4a thereon in a fixed position.

FIGURES 9 to 11 show another modification of the means for adjusting guide element 4b in the radial direction. Guide element 419 is in this case provided with a radially extending arm 23 with a flat recess 24 engaged by a guide member 25, of complementary cross-sectional shape, which projects radially from mounting plate 11. Guide element 4b is thus slidably adjustable in the radial direction and is adapted to be secured in any adjusted position by means of a nut 27 on a screw projecting from guide element and passing through a slot 26 in guide member 25. Obviously, the slidable joint for the radial adjustment of guide element 4b according to FIGURES 9 to 11 may also be combined with a structure accord ing to FIGURE 12 by being inserted between guide element 4 and the tubular part 20.

The further embodiment of the invention as illustrated in FIGURES l3 and 14 is especially adapted for use on machines in which the housing wall 28 is disposed closely adjacent to the scouring wheel 3. Guide element 4c is in this case provided with a dovetailed slide member 24" which is inserted into and slidable along a complementarily recessed guide member 29 secured to the inside of housing wall 28. Guide member 29 and Wall 28 are provided with corresponding slots 30 through which a setscrew 31 is screwed into slide member 24' so that the radial adjustment of guide element 4c may be easily carried out from the outside of housing wall 28.

Guide elements 4, 4a, 4b, 40 may be made of steel or of a suitable plastic, for example, one with a polyamide base, which may be inexpensively produced by a molding process.

Although our invention has been illustrated and described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, We wish to have it understood that it is in no way limited to the details of such embodiments but is capable of numerous modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus fully disclosed our invention, we claim:

1. In a shoe-scouring machine, in combination, a support, a shaft rotatably journaled in said support, an abrasive wheel fixed to said haft, mounting means spaced from said wheel and carried on said support with freedom of at least limited angular adjustment about the axis of said wheel, holding means secured to said mounting means with freedom of limited adjustment in radial direction of said wheel, a guide member supported on said holding means, said guide member having a curved edge adjacent the periphery of said wheel with a radius of curvature substantially equal to the wheel radius and a center of curvature located substantially on said axis, first fastening means for immobilizing said holding means in a selected radial position relative to said axis with said edge projectng beyond the periphery of said wheel, and second fastening means for immobilizing said mounting means in a selected angular position.

2. In a shoe-scouring machine, in combination, a support, a substantially horizontal shaft rotatably journaled in said support, an abrasive wheel fixed to said shaft, mounting means spaced from said wheel and carried on said support with freedom of at least limited angular adjustment about the axis of said Wheel, and above the latter, holding means secured to said mounting means with freedom of limited adjustment in radial direction of said wheel, a guide member supported on said holding means, said guide member having a curved edge adjacent the upper periphery of said wheel with a radius of curvature substantially equal to the wheel radius and a center of curvature located substantially on said axis, first fastening means for immobilizing said holding means at a selected elevation relative to said axis with said edge projecting above the periphery of said wheel, and second fastening means for immobilizing said mounting means in a selected angular position.

3. In a shoe-scouring machine, in combination, a support, a shaft rotatably journaled in said support, an abrasive wheel fixed to said shaft, mounting means spaced from said wheel and carried on said support with freedom of at least limited angular adjustment about the axis of said wheel, a rod projecting from said mounting means toward said wheel in a direction substantially parallel to said shaft, the distance of said rod from said axis being less than the radius of said wheel, holding means including said rod secured to said mounting means with freedom of limited adjustment in radial direction of said wheel, a segmental guide member supported on said holding means, said guide member having a curved edge adjacent the periphery of said wheel with a radius of curvature substantially equal to the Wheel radius and a center of curvature located substantially on said axis, first fastening means for immobilizing said holding means in a selected radial position relative to said axis with said edge projecting beyond the periphery of said wheel, and second fastening means for immobilizing said mounting means in a selected angular position.

4. In a shoe-scouring machine, in combination, a support, a shaft rotatably journaled in said support, an abrasive wheel fixed to said shaft, mounting means spaced from said wheel and carried on said support with freedom of at least limited angular adjustment about the axis of said wheel, a rod projecting from said mounting means toward said wheel in a direction substantially parallel to said shaft, said rod being secured to said mounting means with freedom of limited adjustment in radial direction of said wheel, a guide member supported on said rod with freedom of axial adjustment longitudinally of said rod, said guide member having a curved edge adjacent the periphery of said wheel with a radius of curvature substantially equal to the wheel radius and a center of curvature substantially equal to the wheel radius and a center of curvature located substantially on said axis, first fastening means for immobilizing said rod in a selected radial position to said axis with said edge projecting beyond the periphery of said wheel, second fastening means for immobilizing said mounting means in a selected angular position, and third fastening means for immobilizing said guide member on said rod in a selected axial position.

5. In a shoe-scouring machine, in combination, a support, a substantially horizontal shaft rotatably journaled in said support, an abrasive wheel fixed to said shaft, mounting means spaced from said wheel and carried on said support with freedom of at least limited angular adjustment about the axis of said wheel, a rod projecting from said mounting means toward said wheel in a direction substantially parallel to said shaft and above the latter, said rod being secured to said mounting means With freedom of limited adjustment in radial direction of said wheel, a guide member supported on said rod with freedom of axial adjustment longitudinally of said rod, said guide member having a curved edge adjacent the upper periphery of said wheel with a radius of curvature substantially equal to the wheel radius and a center of curvature located substantially on said axis, first fastening means for immobilizing said rod at a selected elevation relative to said axis with said edge projecting above the periphery of said wheel, second fastening means for immobilizing said mounting means in a selected angular position, and third fastening means for immobilizing said guide member on said rod in a selected axial position.

6. In a shoe-scouring machine, in combination, a support, a shaft rotatably journaled in said support, an abrasive Wheel fixed to said shaft, mounting means spaced from said wheel and carried on said support with freedom of at least limited angular adjustment about the axis of said wheel, a rod projecting from said mounting means toward said wheel in a direction substantially parallel to said shaft, the distance of said rod from said axis being less than the radius of said wheel, said rod being secured to said mounting means with freedom of limited adjustment in radial direction of said wheel, a segmental guide member supported on said rod with freedom of axial adjustment longitudinally of said rod, said guide member having a curved edge adjacent the periphery of said wheel with a radius of curvature substantially equal to the wheel radius and a center of curvature located substantially on said axis, first fastening means for immobilizing said rod in a selected radial position relative to said axis with said edge projecting beyond the periphery of said wheel, second fastening means for immobilizing said mounting means in a selected angular position, and third fastening means for immobilizing said guide member on said rod in a selected axial position.

7. In a shoe-scouring machine, in combination, a support, a substantially horizontal shaft rotatably journaled in said support, an abrasive wheel fixed to said shaft, mounting means spaced from said wheel and carried on said support with freedom of at least limited angular adjustment about the axis of said wheel, a rod projecting from said mounting means toward said wheel in a direction substantially parallel to said shaft and above the latter, the distance of said rod from said axis being less than the radius of said wheel, said rod being secured to said mounting means with freedom of limited adjustment in radial direction of said wheel, a segmental guide member supported on said rod with freedom of axial adjustment longitudinally of said rod, said guide member having a curved edge adjacent the upper periphery of said wheel with a radius of curvature substantially equal to the wheel radius and a center of curvature located substantially on said axis, first fastening means for immobilizing said rod at a selected elevation relative to said axis with said edge projecting above the periphery of said wheel, second fastening means for immobilizing said mounting means in a selected angular position, and third fastening means for immobilizing said guide member on said rod in a selected axial position.

Nagle June 23, 1891 Capomacchio et a1 Nov. 19, 1935 

